Pagan Blog Project - Bucky's Big Blue Book

It is fondly remembered by many and has multiple names. Almost every Wiccan on YouTube has reviewed it. There are just as many blog posts about it. It has been revised and updated multiple times. Yes, I'm talking about "Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft."

Published by Llewellyn Publications, Buckland's tome of useful information first reached the public in 1986. It is touted as being able to take a beginner to a third-degree Gardnerian through its exercises and workbook-like structure. It quite possibly has nearly everything anyone would need to study The Craft, beginner or adept alike. It contains the usual gems: sabbat and esbat rites, herbalism information, and even information on ritual construction. Quite amazingly, it also has a chapter on practicing as a solitary which would seem counter-productive to the Gardnerian's previous initiation-only lineage.


I have to be honest and share my one complaint. It is often said that at times the book comes across as too dry and without emotion. I agree with that. However, as a whole, the benefits of this book far outweigh the random difficulties. It is a book that is meant to accompany a witch on their path. Its place isn't on a bookshelf collecting dust; its place is nestled next to the practitioner's Book of Shadows. It is available on amazon.com and other retailers, as well as libraries (as my mother would unhappily attest to).




Interested in another opinion on the same topic? A fellow PBP participant (Kelly at Pagan(isms) shares her views on this book. Go here.

Pagan Blog Project - B is for Buckland, Raymond

I'm still attempting to catch up on posts since my introduction to the Pagan Blog Project came a little late. As I'm sure you have surmised from the title and photo, Raymond Buckland is the subject of this post. I must admit that I started reading Buckland's books after getting my hands on and devouring some of the more frowned upon titles (gasp!). In fact, I still remember the look of horror on my mother's face when she picked up Bucky's Big Blue Book from my holds at the library. Talk about an interesting conversation!

Tomorrow's post will go into further detail on "Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft." For now, let me share with you a little bit about the man.

Raymond Buckland is often credited as being the man responsible for bringing Wicca from Europe to the United States. Born in London on August 31, 1934, Raymond developed an interest in spiritualism at a young age. His connection to Gerald Gardner seems to have started after he and his wide emigrated to the US in the early 1960s. He would eventually begin conversing with Gardner over the phone and via mail which led to his initiation into the Gardnerian tradition. Upon returning to the states, he and his wife established a coven. He would later develop his own tradition called Seax-Wicca.

Buckland's writing career began in 1969. He has written over sixty titles on a variety of subjects including Wicca, Witchcraft, candle rituals, and spirit communication, and has even tried his hand at a few fiction books. He is renowned for his place in Wicca's history among Gardner, Sanders, Valiente, and Monique Wilson. His contribution to the Pagan community will be felt for many years to come.

He moved to the state of Ohio with his wife, Tara, in 1992. It is rumored that he is working on an autobiography among a few other titles. While his website seems to have been nearly forgotten, he frequently posts updates to his Facebook account.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for a discussion on what is arguably Buckland's most popular titles.

Youtube Update

I posted an update video for my YouTube account. I'll post it below. It basically lets my subscribers know that I'm going to be MIA from posting videos for a while due to technical issues. If you're here then you're in the right place!

Pagan Blog Project - A is for Amazonite

Photo courtesy of Emily Gems

Amazonite is one of my new favorite crystals. It is from the feldspar family and has an average MOHs hardness of 6. This crystal's color gives away its usefulness for attracting abundance and it can be also used with the heart chakra, the energy center commonly associated with the color green. What may not be popular knowledge is it's relationship to Danu.

I have to preface this by saying that I intuitively feel it connects to Danu and that there isn't any historical or folk evidence to support my theory. It's just a hunch. It all came about when I was trying to figure out which crystals to associate with my matron goddess. Upon reading up on the uses of the crystal, and it's associates with abundance, I knew it was meant to be. Danu is the Celtic Goddess of Abundance. Her association with flowing rivers is no coincidence, nor is it a coincidence that this crystal is named after the Amazon river.

When I hold a piece of amazonite in my hand, or even have it on a table nearby, I feel more connected with Danu. I'm not going to tell you a story or suggest that I have all of this figured out; I don't at all. I just know that amazonite and my matron goddess seem to resonate together and when I draw on that association I seem to get results. It works in a similar way as my association between sunstone and Lugh.

Sometimes what works for one Pagan may not work as well for another. There is nothing wrong with that! We are all different people, exploring our own paths, and connecting with whatever we feel called to. Part of the draw of Paganism is the ability to find what works for the individual. Amazonite has become a cherished part of my crystal collection because of my willingness to explore and connect with deity.

Amazonite is also useful in healing emotional trauma and helping us open up to universal love.

Pagan Blog Project - A is for Awkward

Welcome to my first post for the Pagan Blog Project, 2014. I'm very excited to get started. I may be five weeks behind but I should be caught up within a couple of weeks at the most. There have been so many wonderful blog posts on the first letter of the alphabet and I wanted to make mine a little bit special. I wanted to avoid going to the typical topics one might except, not that there is anything wrong with those people that chose to do so. I just wanted to get out of the gate and throw a curveball right from the start. Ha! Two sports metaphors in one sentence!

A is for Awkward.

awk·ward

  [awk-werd]  

adjective

1.

lacking skill or dexterity. Synonyms: clumsy, inept; unskillful,unhandy, inexpert. Antonyms: deft, adroit, skillful, dexterous;handy.

2.

lacking grace or ease in movement: an awkward gesture; anawkward dancer. Synonyms: uncoordinated, graceless, ungainly;gawky; maladroit; clumsy. Antonyms: graceful.

3.

lacking social graces or manners: a simple, awkward frontiersman.Synonyms: gauche, unpolished, unrefined; blundering, oafish;ill-mannered, unmannerly, ill-bred. Antonyms: gracious; polite,well-mannered, well-bred; smooth, polished, refined.

4.

not well planned or designed for easy or effective use: anawkward instrument; an awkward method. Synonyms: unwieldy,cumbersome, unmanageable; inconvenient, difficult,troublesome.

5.

requiring caution; somewhat hazardous: an awkward turn in theroad. Synonyms: dangerous, risky, unsafe, chancy; perilous,precarious, treacherous.

I can see the confusion on your faces. Okay, I can't really see your face, but I can imagine the look you're giving me. No, this post is not about language or the delicious study of words. We'll save that for the college educated and people with way more time on their hands. This post is about a person's first steps into The Craft.

We were all awkward (see definition number one) when we first came to Paganism. There were terms we didn't understand, confusion between the different pronunciations of athame (ATH-ah-may vs ah-THAY-me) depending on which side of the pond you're from, and even a few fears about summoning something we weren't able to handle. All of this is perfectly normal. Learning takes time and one of the ways we learn is through studying materials relevant to the subjects at hand.

There has been an unfortunate shift in the Pagan community as of late. It's not found everywhere but it is present, even among some of the people we view as leaders. I'm talking about the way we look at the newbies to the meetup events, or the open circles, or even the Pagan Youtube community. We forget that not everyone has all of the answers all at the same time. Some expect perfection as soon as someone reads their first book on one of the many Pagan paths. It is both unfair and unrealistic.

Instead of criticizing someone as not being a real witch or for mispronouncing Samhain as "sam-hane," let's embrace those that have a desire to learn. Some people are awkward at dancing but that doesn't make them any less of a dancer. The same can be said for acting since we can all name ten men and women that think they can act in television or movies but, in fact, cannot. This post is about bringing our community as a whole closer together.

Some people in our community wear faerie wings. Some wear bindis. Some wear mismatched socks and forget to pay attention to the people around us that we care for the most. Let's not shun the people who have come to our community to find the connections that they are seeking. How about we welcome them with open arms and have a little patience as they figure things out?

Learning doesn't happen overnight, nor does it happen from reading one book or one author. Learning happens at ALL times, through every interaction and every ritual performed. Awkwardness will come and go throughout the different stages of our lives. It's okay to be awkward at times. Embrace the newness and the mysterious. Move towards it with open arms and not with fear of outside judgement.

 

Spell Sharing is Caring?

The exchange of information is so easy to come by these days. Rituals and spells can be shared on blogs, Facebook groups, Pinterest posts, or even by handing out spell ingredients with instructions neatly printed on a 3x5 index card. Pagans are frequently approached by individuals looking for information on spell casting. In this post I will be discussing the sharing of spells, whether they're effective, and whether it is even ethical to do so.

Let's cover the toughest aspect of this first, shall we? Ethics have a place in every major religion and Paganism is no different. While there are various traditions, each with their own view of right, wrong, and somewhere in between, for the most part we tend to agree on the major points. I see no problem in sharing spells with other people provided they are able to understand the purpose of the spell and what it means. Real witchcraft isn't like the televised version, as much as some of us might like it to be. Spells seldom work instantaneously and there is more involved than a rhyming couplet and uttering the words "so more it be."

My view of spells is that they should only be cast as a last resort, and even then, we are still responsible for contributing to the outcome. I can cast a spell to help me find a job left, right, and sideways (I'm pretty sure I could do it...) but it won't be effective if I'm not filling out job applications. The same thing with other types of spells; simply wanting something and casting a spell for it won't guarantee we'll get our desired outcome if we don't put in the effort to see the spell through. So yes, I think sharing spells is ethical, so long as the person(s) we're giving them to understands the purpose, the possible consequences, and that the spell alone is usually not enough to get us what we want. That may be a pretty controversial point of view but I have it nonetheless.

Let's next cover whether or not shared spells are effective. I suppose they can be. I don't cast a lot of spells and when I do so, I try to write my own words and utilize my own intent to focus on my goals. I just feel that spells are more effective when they come from the heart and that means we have to put as much of ourselves into them as possible. If you pick up a Wicca 101 book you'll likely find spells galore. The authors don't put them in just as filler - they intend for the spells to be performed and believe that a similar outcome will occur for whomever chooses to cast them. I can't claim otherwise. Writing is difficult for some people, let alone trying to make something rhyme. In those cases the spell could be more effective for the person than if they tried to whip up something on their own. It's all perspective.

All of this brings us to whether or not it's possible to share spells. Of course it is. Is it ethical? So long as the person understands what they're getting themselves into, sure. Should we do it? Not necessarily.

I think we should provide a greater emphasis on teaching people to create their own spells rather than relying on purchasing spell books and scouring the internet. We should put an emphasis on learning and educating ourselves on correspondences, moon phases, and all of the other things that make up the creation of a spell. It's far too easy to ask people to give us the answer when a lot of the time we'd be better off doing our own research and figuring out the answer on our own. I'm not suggesting we don't help people with questions or those in need, but I am suggesting we let people develop their own practice by what they believe and not by what all of us tell them to do.

Projects and Prompts Abound

Sometimes I have trouble thinking of interesting topic ideas to blog about. I don't want to only post about things in the news and would prefer to do a variety of posts on a variety of subjects. I've found a couple of ways to do that.

I've officially joined the Pagan Blog Project, 2014 edition. There is even a cool little button to the right of my posts to show this is legit. If you are interested in participating yourself, or just want more information, click on the button to be redirected to the official website. I have a little catching up to do so there will be a flurry of posts for a bit. I hope that you enjoy them!

I've also signed up to receive separate Pagan Blog prompts directly to my inbox. These seem to come with more time in between. I'll also look into going through the archives and touching on previous topics that I think would be interesting to cover. 

Idolatry and the Wiccan Altar

For those of you that aren't aware, April and May of 2013 were horrible months for me. I went through some of the darkest times in my life, was homeless for a few days after being released from the hospital, and forced to move across the country with only what I could fit inside of my suitcase. It's a great thing to tell newbies to the Craft that all they really need to practice is themselves. It's a lot more difficult to get us seasoned practitioners accustomed to the idea, especially when it means turning our backs on our favorite incense holder, cauldron, altar cloth, or deity statues. True, these are just things. Their real value lies in their use and what they mean to us; that doesn't mean we don't miss them when they're gone.

Lugh

I really miss my statuary. I had so little time to appreciate my Lugh and Danu statues and now, out of all of my possessions, they are the two things I most want to hold in my hands. After thinking upon this further I was led to wonder if my focus on the statues is somehow doing me a disservice. After all, my connection to Danu and Lugh isn't dependent upon having statues to put atop my altar during ritual. I don't need statues to invite them to my circle or to commune with them. The act of praying in front of an altar with statuary is based purely on my assumption that it is what a Wiccan does. The truth is that I can have just as a profound experience by going outside, sitting under a large tree, and simply talking to them. Probably a better one, in fact.

Danu

I know the purpose of our tools. I know they help us focus our energies during ritual work and spellcraft. Most of the tools we witches collect are useful items in one way or another, or because they hold some sort of significance to us, otherwise we wouldn't have them around. I think this experience has taught me a lesson about the material things versus the spiritual aspects of life. I still want my statues but now I appreciate what they are. They aren't deity incarnate; the statues are physical representations of the deities that I already feel as though I am in the presence of. I may have left the statues but Lugh and Danu have not left me. I may have moved two-thousand miles away but my faith is as strong as ever, as is the embrace I feel after having learned this lesson the hard way.

Pagan Women Veiling - An Odd Occurrence or a New Tradition?

Click for article.

I recently stumbled upon a March, 2012 article at the Patheos blog written by the amazing Star Foster. As some of you may know, Star stepped down in her role as editor at the end of 2012, but her incredible articles are still there for us to browse and be in amazement of. This particular article brought to my attention something unexpected. I'm not entirely sure why I wasn't aware of this growing fad sooner. I can only claim ignorance and a web browser with a mind of it's own (Sterek fanfics at AO3, anyone?).

I encourage you to click on the photo to the left to read Star's article in full. I was captivated by the topic all the way from the headline to the last punctuation mark, length be damned. The general message of the article was that there had been a rise in Pagan women veiling as a way to pay honor to their chosen Goddess. If you stop to think about it for a moment, the covering of ones head is hardly a new idea. Most prominent in Islam and Judaism, the act is common among both women and men and is seen as a way to honor the deity of their religious tradition. I've seen Muslim women wearing the hijab and have seen Jewish men wearing the kippah. It was never something that interested me, and yet, while reading this article, I found myself in awe of the many men and women that chose to honor their chosen deities in this manner. Granted, the article itself was mainly about Pagan women and not men, but I was able to appreciate the gesture from both sexes and throughout all faiths.

I may be in the minority here, especially as a man, but I find the principle behind the hijab, along with the woman's choice to wear it, an incredibly powerful statement. I believe the emphasis lies in the fact that the woman be allowed the choice to wear these garments and that they must never be forced upon someone. I have struggled at times in how I can best honor Danu and Lugh and while I do not feel either of them asking me to cover my head, I began to wonder if deity did call me to do so, would I? The answer to that is that I simply do not know.

Modern society seems to associate a stigma with the wearing of these garments. The unfortunate consensus seems to be that if men choose to wear a kippah they are being respectful and honoring God, while at the same time if a woman chooses to cover her head then she is somehow being subjugated. I cannot argue that it is a fact of life for some of the women of the world, but it is also just as likely that the women wearing these garments are doing so out of choice. To prove my point, one simply has to look to the Queen Rania of Jordan, who chooses not to wear the veil.

"I have nothing against the veil. And I think that, wrongly, many in the West look at the veil as a symbol of oppression. Now, as long as a woman chooses to wear the veil, because that's her belief and because of her own - that's a personal relationship with God, so she should be free to dress in whichever way she wants."  

I could not agree with her more. I think those of us in the western world need to shift in our minds the perception that any person who wears a veil does so only because someone else is forcing them to. By removing that misconception we can more clearly see the act of faith behind the wearing of these garments. The desire to please deity permeates almost every known religion and there is nothing wrong with a person's desire to become closer to said deity through modesty. It is an act that I am both respectful of and in awe of. 

It is not something I choose to do for myself. And that's perfectly alright. When it comes down to it, Paganism expects us to make our own connections and relationships with deity, in whichever forms we choose to do so. What may be acceptable for one person may not be the same for another. That difference is what makes our community stronger.

Now that you know my position, what are your thoughts? Leave me a comment and let me know.

• 
  

Last Chance!

Hibiscus Moon, crystal goddess extraordinaire, has decided to retire two of her most popular products at midnight tonight. If you've been debating on whether or not to purchase these items I suggest you take the plunge. I'm absolutely positive you will not regret it. I use both of these products myself and have found them to contain a wealth of knowledge that I can return to again and again.

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Both of these products make wonderful resources for anyone looking to utilize their crystals in new ways. A total beginner can use these products and be able to utilize the techniques with ease.

It's Official (quizfarm.com said so...)

After a moment of curiosity struck me, I decided to explore the World Wide Web for answers. I have previously used Beliefnet's Belief O Matic but this time I wanted a quiz just for fun. Here's my result:

You Scored as Celtic Pantheonic Pagan Your answers leaned very close to that of the Celtic Pantheon.  Very popular now among pagans, the Celtic Gods seem to  draw those who are sensitive and insightful, but also very  passionate about their beliefs. Many Pagan Holidays are  named for this pantheon and here is where you'll find  many stories on Horned God, Green Man, and Druids.  You likely either have been or want to visit Stonehenge  one day. Many Arthurian legnds include references to the  Celtic faith, as well. Celtic Pantheonic Pagan 95% Shamanic Pagan 55% Eastern Pagan 35% Zoroastrian Pagan 35% Roman Pantheonic Pagan 20% Ecclectic Pagan 15%

Were you surprised by the answer? If you're curious about your own result go here. Make sure to post your results in the comments!